Our regular weekly guide to what to expect from the week ahead in London, with the restaurants, bars and more opening their doors across town. This week sees the opening of a new restaurant for the Clove Club team, a South American restaurant in Smithfield and more bagels for Notting Hill.
Bar Valette
Shoreditch - 8 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA
This is the new restaurant from The Clove Club (now just run by Isaac McHale). The head chef here is Erin Jackson who comes over from the Clove Club itself but Bar Valette is a more casual venue (it's where Two Lights was). The menu will apparently have both French and Spanish influences and you will be able to get one of The Clove Club's signature dishes, the buttermilk chicken with pine,
Opening date: 25 January 2025
Alfonsia
Smithfield - 50–52 Long Lane, London EC1A 9EJ
This is chef Ricardo Younis Moreno's first solo restaurant (he was previously at La Bodega Negra and Stoke House) and it'll have a mix of Argentine, Mexican, and Peruvian flavours, taking inspiration from the countries that he's lived and worked in. Dishes planned for the menu include fired cauliflower nuggets in aji amarillo cream, arroz con pollo and more.
Opening date: 23 January 2025
Kuro Bagels
Notting Hill - 5 Hillgate Street, London W8 7SP
The team behind Kuro Bakery are pivoting their former all-day diner Kuro Eatery into this new bagel shop. They'll offer both made-to-order and ready-filled bagels, with examples being the KURO Special, featuring wasabi cream cheese, ikura, red onion and dill. Given how well the Notting Hill It's Bagels is doing right now, this sounds like a sensible move.
Opening date: 20 January 2025
Here's what opened last week
The Prince Arthur (Belgravia) - High-end pub with a Basque-style menu
Tamila (King's Cross) - The curry house spin-off from The Tamil Prince
Grill on Fifth (Knightsbridge) - Harrods swaps in a grill room where Studio Frantzen used to be
Santa Maria (Kew) - Great Neapolitan pizzas arrive in Kew
Don't Tell Dad (Queen's Park) - Bakery and restaurant from a Coco di Mama founder
Leigh's (De Beauvoir) - New cafe serving up toasties and pastries
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